Machines for manipulating cut tobacco



May 13, 1969 D. w. MoLlNs v 3,443,688

MACHINES FOR MANIPULATING CUT TOBACCO Filed Aug. 19, 1966 sheet of 4 May13, 1969 D. w. MoLlNs MACHINES FOR MANIPULATING CUT TOBACCO Sheet 3 o'f4 Filed Aug. 19, 1966 MACHINES FOR MANIPULA'I-ING CUT TOBACCO Filed Aug.19, 196e sheet 3 of 4 I 17%, @Jihad wenn.'

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United States Patent O 3,443,688 MACHINES FOR MANIPULATING CUT TOBACCODesmond Walter Molins, Deptford, London, England, as-

sgnor to The Molins Organisation Limited, London, England, a corporationof Great Britain Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 292,604,July 3, 1963. This application Aug. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 573,517 Claimspriority, application Great Britain, `Iuly 18, 1962, 27,576/ 62 Int. Cl.B07b 4/02 U.S. Cl. 209-12 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aseparator for cut tobacco has an elutriating passage for a primaryseparation of light from heavy particles. At the lower end of thepassage a roller having small recesses in its periphery receives theheavies fraction for secondary separation thereof. Small usable tobaccoparticles enter the recesses and the larger unusable tobacco remains onthe surface of the roller. The small particles from said recesses ispneumatically combined with the primary lights fraction.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application,Ser. No. 292,604, filed Iuly 3, 1963, and now abandoned.

This invention concerns improvements in machines for manipulating cuttobacco, such for instance as continuous rod cigarette-making machines,and is more particularly concerned with apparatus for separating stemand large fragments from cut tobacco.

`Cut tobacco is sometimes made by cutting Whole tobacco leaves so thatthe resulting tobacco is a mixture of cut lamina and cut stem. Thismixture is not usually considered suitable for incorporation intocigarettes or other tobacco articles since some of the stem pieces aretoo large. In cigarettes, for example, large pieces of stem usually donot burn and may pierce the enveloping cigarette paper. Such pieces willbe referred to hereinafter aS unusable stem whereas pieces suitable forincorporation will be referred to as usable stern. Any other largeundesirable fragments present in the cut tobacco will together with theunusable stem be referred to as unusable material.

It is to be understood that the distinction between what is usable andwhat is not depends on the purpose to which the tobacco is to be put andon the preferences of a manufacturer. Reference to the size of tobaccoparticles and of parts of the apparatus used for effecting separationneeds to be considered in this light. However, suitable average sizes inthe case of cigarette tobacco may be stated by way of a guide.

The object throughout is to separate such portions of the tobacco as themanufacturing user considers undesirable in his product and to this endthere is provided apparatus for separating cut tobacco containingunusable material into usable and unusable portions with the separationcarried out in two stages, the apparatus of one stage comprising wallsdefining a substantially vertical passage, means to cause an air streamto ow up the 3,443,688 Patented May 13, 1969 "ice passage and means tofeed tobacco into the passage, the air stream being such that usabletobacco only is entrained therein to be carried up the passage while theremaining tobacco falls through the air stream; and apparatus of theother stage comprising a compartment, means to feed tobacco to thecompartment, a movable member forming the base of the compartment,recesses in the surface of said member into which only usable particlesof tobacco can enter, means for continuously removing from thecompartment unusable tobacco carried on the surface of the member and areceiver into which usable tobacco can fall from the recesses of themember.

A surface recessed as specified above could be a flat surface, forexample a series of plates Acarried by a conveyor or the at surfaceitself of a conveyor, but for general convenience of manufacture and ofoperation a recessed roller or cylinder is to be preferred.

Apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by wayof example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a section through part of a continuous rod cigarette-makingmachine showing a preferred cmbodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is the same section as that of FIGURE 1 drawing to a smallerscale and including more apparatus than that shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGUR-E 3 is a section drawn to a larger scale of a fragment of arecessed cylinder shown in FIGURE l,

FIGURE 4 is an end view of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is a view, partly in section, of a driving device for thecylinder of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE `6 is a side elevation of FIGURE 5,

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 1 showing .anotherembodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to those of FIGURES 1 and 7 showing a still:further embodiment.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 and 2, a carded drum 1, which is part of ahopper 2 of acontinuous rod cigarette-making machine, rotates in theAdirection of arrow 3 and in so doing removes cut tobacco from the hopper2, delivering it in the form of a carpet past a refuser drum 4 and combs5 to a picker roller `6. Pins 7 on the periphery of the picker roller `6strip the carpet of tobacco from the carded drum 1 and project it overthe surface of a partly concave shaped plate l8 between which andserrations 9 of a winnower roller 10 the tobacco particles are directed.The roller 10 rotates in a clockwise direction as seen when looking atboth FIGURES 1 and 2 and thus impels the tobacco to the left. The speedof the roller 10' can be varied so that any desired initial velocity canbe irnparted to the particles.

Beyond the plate `3 is .a further plate 11 pierced by rows of holes 12which are directed to a point above. The dotted lines between the holes12 represent the next row which is staggered in relation to the rowshown in the section of FIGURE 1. The holes of each row are directed totheir own respective point above the plate 12, all these points being ina straight line perpendicular to the section plane.

Tobacco particles can travel up a substantially vertical passage 13 toform a filler on the underside of an air pervious conveyor (not shown inFIGURE 2) which separates the top of the passage 13 from a suctionchamber 14, all as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,030,965,

3 issued Apr. 24, 1962. The suction chamber 14, which communicates viapiping with a 'fan 116, causes a main air stream to ow up the passage13, this ow being augmented by air sucked by a further fan 17 via piping18 and 19.

The main air stream iiowing up the passage 13 causes air to tlow throughthe holes 12. This air flow is transverse to the direction of movementof the impelled tobacco and is so regulated that it entrains lighttobacco particles which are u'sable deecting them in a curved patharound a rotating perforated cylinder 20 and into the passage 13. Thisdeliection is asserted by a-ir passing into the centre of the cylinder20 and then out on its other side into the end of the piping 18. The airthrough the cylinder 20 also removes dust and small fragments from theimpelled tobacco, these being separated from the air in a separator 21and being delivered by means of a duct 22, the fan 16 and yfurtherpiping 23 t-o dust collectors 24.

The main airstream carries a considerable part of the usable tobaccocontained in the tobacco impelled by the roller 10 up the passage 13.However unusable tobacco is too heavy lto be deected and passes throughthe main air stream into a receptacle 25. Mixed with the unusablematerial, which consists mainly of large pieces of stem, are somesmaller and usable pieces of stem as well as shreds of lamina both ofwhich become entangled with and carried along by the unusable material.

The receptacle 25 is formed `by side plates 26 and 27 with a rotatablemetal roller 28 a-s its bottom. The roller 28 has a serrated peripheryformed by cutting 90 V- shaped grooves about 0.030" deep. The side plate26 ends in a resilient member 29 which cooperates with the roller 28 toact as an air lock whilst allowing tobacco which has fallen into thebottom of the receptacle 25 to pass therebetween. Contact between themember 29 and the roller 28, which rotates as indicated by arrow 30, canbe adjusted by means of a screw 311 and a spring 32.

The tobacco fed between the member 29 and the roller 28 enters asubstantially vertical passage 33 above which is a curved 4passage 34.One wall 3S of the passage 33 is fixed to a bracket 36 which is joinedby means of adjustable screws 37 to a plate 38 located on the main frameof the machine. A further locating screw 39 bears against the faceV ofthe bracket 36. By adjusting the screws 37 and 39 the position of theWall 35 can be moved sufliciently to vary the cross-sectional area ofthe passage 33. Hinged to the top of the wall is an extension piece 40which can be swung into any one of a series of desired positions bymeans of a quadrant bracket 41. A wall 42 opposite the wall 35 is fixed.The lower ends of the walls 35 and 42 are joined to perforated plates 43and 44, respectively.

Due to the perforations in the plates 43 and 44 air can enter the bottomof the passage 33 and can only leave by means of the curved passage -34whose upper end finishes in the vicinity of the lower end of the passage13. Thus suction exerted in the chamber 14 causes a subsidiary airstream to ow up the passages 33 and 34 at the end of which thissubsidiary air stream becomes part of the main air stream. The quantityof -air owing up the passage 33 can be varied by moving the extensionpiece 40 in relation to the lower end of wall 45 of the passage 34. Thiseither closes or opens a gap and thus regulates the entry or otherwiseof further air at this position. The velocity of the air up the passage33 can be modied by changing the position of the wall 35 by means of thescrews 37 and 39 as described hereinabove.`

The' tobacco discharged through the air lock formed by the member 29 andthe roller 28 is impinged on by the rising subsidiary air stream whichis regulated to entrain only usable tobacco. Usable tobacco is thuscarried up the passages 33 and '34 after which it enters -into the mainair stream where it joins the usable tobacco from the roller 10. Theunusable materia-l together with so-me usable tobacco entwined oradhering thereto falls through the air 4stream onto the surface of arotatable cylinder 46 which forms the bottom of the passage 33. 'Some ofthis tobacco will drop into small recesses 47 formed in the periphery ofthe cylinder 46, as more specifically described hereinafter, whilepieces of unusable material too long or too large to lodge in therecesses 47 remain on the periphery. The cylinder 46 rotates in ananticlockwise direction as seen when looking at FIGURE l, thus removingboth usable tobacco which is lodged in the recesses 47 and unusablematerial on the cylinders surface from the bottom of the passage 33which in the region of the perforated plates 43 and 44 can be regardedas a compartment.

The unusable material passes through a gap 48 between the bottom of theplate 43 and the cylinder 46 and are removed from the cylinders surfaceby a brush 49 rotating in a clockwise direction, falling into areceptacle 50. At the bottom of the receptacle 50 is a duct S1 havingits top half removed so that the particles of unusable material can passfrom the receptacle 50 into the duct 51 in which they are removed fromthe lmachine by means of an airflow from a source not shown.

The usable material lodged in the recesses 47 is carried by the rotationof the cyclinder 46 past a retaining plate 52 into a receiver 53. Thetop of the receiver 53 becomes a rising passage 54 which emerges to theleft (as seen when looking at FIGURE 1) of the plate 11. The bottom ofthe receiver 53 is open to atmosphere at 55 and thus a furthersubsidiary air stream rises through the receiver 53 and the passage 54to join the main air stream the remaining air for which is made up ofthat emerging through the holes 12 and from the passage 34. Thissubsidiary air stream up the passage 54 has suicient velocity to entrainthe remaining usable tobacco from the recesses 47. The air drawn throughthe holes 12 is supplied from a duct 56 which is fed from the fan 17 viaa further duct S7 (see FIGURE 2). The duct l56 is subdivided to providestreams of air substantially as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 1 thesestreams being guided by separating members 58.

The cylinder 46 is constructed from a number of narrow discs 59, seeFIGURES 3 and 4, mounted on a shaft and separated one from the other bythin circular plates 60. The circular plates 60 and the tips of thediscs S9 form the periphery or surface of the cylinder 46 on which theunusable material rests.

It has been found advantageous to drive the cylinder 46 intermittently,the arrangements being shown in FIG- URES 5 and 6. The cylinder shafts59a is tted with a sprag clutch 60a the driving member of which isprovided With a lever 61. The lever 61 is oscillated by an eccentric rod62 which is driven by an eccentric `(not shown) fixed on a rotatableshaft of the cigarette making machines. A grooved pulley 63 engaged by abrake shoe 64 drawn into engagement therewith by a spring 65 preventsoverrun or backlash.

The operation of the apparatus will now be described.

The cut tobacco handled in the hopper 2 is a mixture of cut lamina andcut stem. It is stripped by the picker pins 7 from the carding of thedrum 1 with the speed of the picker roller 6 being suiciently high atapproximately 190041,50() r.p.m. to tear apart long strands of tobaccoand to separate the stem and lamina portions. -Due to the presence andshape of the plate 8 all the stripped tobacco is directed between thisplate and the winnower roller 10. By adjusting the speed of the roller10 the tobacco can have imparted to it any desired amount of momentum.The action of the main air stream is selective `in carrying away onlylight usable tobacco up the passage 13 while stem and other unusablematerial continue their movement across the flow of the main air streamand into the receptacle 25.

The tobacco in the receptacle 25, comprising mostly of unusable materialbut with some usable tobacco intermingled with or clinging thereto, isdischarged through the airlock formed by the member 29 and the roller28. As stated above, there is a subsidiary air stream moving upwards inthe passage 33. In this rising air stream the tobacco which has passedthrough the air-lock 29-28 is further separated with some of the lightusable tobacco being carried by the subsidiary air stream to join themain air stream flowing up the passage 13. The remainder of the tobacco,mostly heavy unusable tobacco falls through the air stream onto therotating cylinder 46. To regulate the degree of separation, the airvelocity of the subsidiary air stream may be varied by altering thesetting of the wall 35 and of the extension piece 40, both as describedhereinbefore.

Of the tobacco falling onto the top of the cylinder 46 the usable smallparticles enter the recesses 47. Unusable material which is too big forsuch entry remains on the surface of the cylinder 46 supported on theplates 60 until the rotating brush 49 removes itv therefrom when itfalls into the duct 51 by which it is removed from the apparatus. As thecylinder 46 rotates, the usable material in the recesses 47 is carriedround, being held therein by the retaining plate 52. At the end of theplate 52 it falls away from the cylinder 46 into the receiver 53 fromwhich it is removed by the lifting action of the further subsidiary airstream flowing up the passage 54. At the top of this passage theentrained particles of usable tobacco enter into the influence of themain air stream which carries them up the passage 13.

In this way the usable tobacco is segregated from the unusable materialalthough it is possible that some of the former might circulate morethan once through the separating apparatus.

FIGURE 7 resembles FIGURE l in many ways and represents a furtherembodiment of the invention. Like references refer to like parts and inthe following description the differences only will be described.

The air lock comprises as before a roller 28 rotating in the directionof the arrow 30. In contact with the roller 28 is a rubber coveredroller 66 rotating in the opposite direction. The rubber covering of theroller 66 is of Soft or spongy material and is readily deformable whentobacco passes between the two rollers which thus form an air lock toprevent air being sucked by the compartment 25 and thus interfering withthe function of the passage 33.

The walls 35 and 42 of the passage 33 are provided with holes 67 and 68respectively at their lower ends. The cylinder 46 is provided withV-shaped grooves 69 into which the usable tobacco can fall. The unusablematerial carried on the surface of the cylinder 46 is brushed into arotating air lock 70 which discharges into the duct 51.

A further embodiment is shown in FIGURE 8 in which like references againrefer to like parts. The air lock nOW comprising the rubber coveredroller 66 and a cylinder 71 which resembles the cylinder 46 of FIGURE 7in having its surface covered with V-shaped recesses 72. The usablesmall tobacco from the compartment 25 enters into and is retained in therecesses 72 to be delivered to the receptacle 53 from which they areremoved as previously by the further subsidiary air stream iiowing upthe passage 54. The remaining tobacco, mostly unusable material with asmall amount of usable tobacco entwined or adhering thereto passesthrough the air lock into a passage 73 at the bottom of which is the airlock 70 and the duct 51.

A subsidiary air stream flows up the passage 73, the opposite walls 0fwhich, 74 and 75, are provided with inlet holes 76 and 77 respectively.The wall 74 is again adjustable and is provided with the hingedextension piece 40.

In this embodiment first stage separation is carried out by the cylinder71 followed by second stage separation by the air stream flowing up thepassage 73.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cigarette-making machine, means defining a substantiallyvertical passage, means to cause an airstream to flow towards and upsaid passage, means to project tobacco across said airstream wherebylight tobacco is entrained and carried through said passage while theremainder of the tobacco falls, means defining a first compartment toreceive said remainder, a separating cylinder forming the base of saidcompartment and having peripheral recesses separated by divisionsnarrower than said recesses, said recesses being of a size toaccommodate only usable pieces of tobacco contained in said remainder,means defining a second compartment adjacent the first compartment andhaving an opening adjacent said cylinder to receive therefrom largeunusable pieces of tobacco which rest on the divisions of said cylinder,a duct connecting one of said compartments with said passage, means tocause air to flow upwardly through said one compartment and said duct toentrain light elements of said remainder falling through said onecompartment, a channel to receive usable pieces of tobacco from saidrecesses and directed towards said passage, and means to cause air toflow through said channel to entrain said usable pieces and project themtowards said passage.

2. In a cigarette-making machine of the kind comprising a hopper toreceive cut tobacco containing stem, means to cause an upward airstreamand means for removing tobacco from the hopper and impelling it acrossthe path of the upward airstream which carries away only usable tobaccoto form a main airborne stream of usable cut tobacco while the remainderof the tobacco falls, a first receptacle to receive the remainder of theimpelled tobacco; second airstream means for separating said remainingtobacco into light and heavier fractions and for conveying said lightfraction to said upward airstream while said lheavier fraction falls;means for feeding the remaining tobacco from said receptacle to saidsecond airstream means and for preventing airflow between said firstreceptacle and said second airstream means; further means for receivingand separating said heavier fraction into usable and unusuable portionscomprising a roller having small recesses in its periphery separatedfrom one another by thin divisions, said recesses being of such sizethat only usable tobacco may enter and be contained therein whileunusable tobacco remains on the periphery supported by said divisions,means for rotating the roller whereby said usable tobacco in saidrecesses is carried around by the roller to a delivery position andmeans for removing unusable tobacco from the roller periphery at aposition in advance of said delivery position; and means for conveyingsaid usuable tobacco from said delivery position to said upwardairstream.

3. A cigarette-making machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said meansfor feeding the remaining tobacco from said receptacle to said secondairstream means and for preventing airflow between said first receptacleand said second airstream means comprises a pair of feed rollers capableof rotating in opposite directions and in contact with each other, atleast one of said rollers being of resilient material.

4. A cigarette-making machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said meansfor feeding the remaining tobacco from said receptacle to said secondairstream means and for preventing airflow between said first receptacleand said second airstream means comprises a rotatably mounted feedroller having a serrated periphery and a resilient scarpper member whichcooperates with said roller.

5. In a cigarette-making machine of the kind comprising a hopper toreceive cut tobac-co containing stem, means to cause an upward airstreamand means for removing tobacco from the hopper and impelling it acrossthe path of the upward airstream which carries away only usable tobaccoto form a main airborne stream of usable cut tobacco, a first receptacleto receive the remainder of the impelled tobacco, second air streammeans for separating tobacco into light and heavier fractions andconveying said light fraction to said upward airstream while saidheavier fraction falls, means for feeding the remaining tobacco out ofsaid receptacle and for separating said remaining tobacco into usableand unusable portions comprising a .pair of rollers capable of rotatingin opposite directions and in Contact with each other, one of saidrollers having small recesses in its periphery separated from oneanother by thin divisions, said recesses being of such size that onlyusable tobacco may enter and be contained therein while unusable tobaccoremains on the periphery supported by said divisions, and means forrotating said one roller whereby said unusuable tobacco is conveyed to aposition where it is separated into said light and heavier fractions andsaid light fraction is removed by said second airstream and said usabletobacco in said recesses is carried around by the roller to a deliveryposition, the other roller engaging the periphery of said recessedroller at a position in advance of said second airstrearn for preventingairow between said second airstream means and said lirst receptacle; andmeans for conveying said usable tobacco from said delivery position tosaid upward airstream.

References Cited FRANK W. LUTTER, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XR.

